CJ 460 Community Corrections and Sentencing

Description: Deinstitutionalization movement within the prison industry in the U.S. Development of the scale and reach of the prison industry, incarceration rates relative to violent and non-violent offenses, incarceration rates for drug offenses, development of decentralized, community-related sentencing.

Course Outline

Class time: Friday 12:30pm

Classroom: HSS 210

Instructor: Daniel Macallair

Office: HSS 246

Office Hours: Thursday 5-7pm; Friday 3:30-4:30pm (or by appointment)

Contact: macallai@sfsu.edu

Course Purpose

Despite the unprecedented expansion of imprisonment in the United States during the past three decades, community corrections, such as probation and parole, are the largest components of the criminal justice system. Because conditions of probation and parole are normally designed to be offender specific, these community corrections options offer courts and corrections personnel the widest range of discretion available in the criminal justice system. However, the development and application of community corrections remains one of the least understood and underutilized approaches to issues of crime, punishment, and rehabilitation. This course will introduce students to the history and practice of community corrections and its application to criminal justice policy. The course will cover this historical development of community corrections and the emerging trends within the field.

Course Description

The course explores the origins of community corrections and its role in the American criminal justice system. The course covers the major issues and topics associated with community corrections programs within probation and parole. These issues and topics include:

History and overview of sentencing and sentencing law

The evolutions of probation and parole

Philosophical foundations of community corrections

Sentencing processes and their impact on community corrections

Community programming for specific offender populations

The future of sentencing policy and community corrections

The impact of changes in sentencing policy on community corrections will be examined to determine future directions and historical patterns

The primary instructional method is lecture and discussion. Students are expected to read and consider assigned readings prior to each class. Students are encouraged to express their views during class discussions. View the class slides >>

Required Reading

The following are required readings for the class.

Latessa, and Smith Corrections in the Community

Hanser, Robert. Special Needs Offenders in the Community. Pearson/Prentice Hall